Speak Your Brain! Part 95.

Thanks to Charlie Horse 47 and Killdumpster for their sponsorship of this post, via the magic of Patreon. 

***

Image by Tumisu
from Pixabay

Whoa, brave Pegasus! Before my very eyes, another year reaches its pulse-pounding season finale!

But is that what is on our minds?

That, I cannot say. For even one blessed with such hierophantic heroics as myself struggles, upon nights like this, to see into the hearts of mortal men.

How blessed we are, then to spy before us the return of that feature.

You know?

That one.

The one in which the topic for debate is set by the first person to comment below.

Therefore, be sure to give the New Year a good launching, by posting that topic, in the box below and we can then hope 2025 shall continue as it has started.

December 1984 - Marvel UK monthlies, 40 years ago this month.

Thanks to Charlie Horse 47 and Killdumpster for their sponsorship of this post, via the magic of Patreon. 

***

The 21st Century was beckoning in 1984 with the People's Republic of China and the People's Kingdom of United Kingdom signing the Sino-British Joint Declaration on the future of Hong Kong. That future was, of course, that China would get it back in 1997.

Elsewhere, a Soviet cruise missile plunged into Lake Inari in Finnish Lapland, although Finnish authorities didn't make the news public until January 1985.

In the world of music, Rick Allen, drummer of immense Sheffield poodle rockers Def Leppard, lost his left arm in a car crash on the notoriously abysmal Snake Pass between Sheffield and Manchester. However, this would prove to be no impediment to his career and he carried on drumming with the band, despite this setback.

Speaking of music, it was a month which started with the pinnacle of the UK singles chart being gripped by Frankie Goes to Hollywood's Christmas-classic-that-has-nothing-to-do-with-Christmas The Power of Love before the unstoppable juggernaut that was Band Aid's Do They Know It's Christmas? dethroned it.

And, having grabbed the top spot, that single was in no mood to relinquish it.

When it came to albums, there was only one kid in town, right then, with Various Artists' The Hits Album spending the entire month at Number One.

It's a special occasion for us all, I'm sure. Especially if we're being plagued by those cheeky little scamps the world knows as poltergeists, because - as well as all the usual gossip, views and reviews - we get plenty of info about that new, up-and-coming movie Ghostbusters and the making of it thereof.

Do I detect a cover dedicated to a certain special episode that may feature all five of the Doctors who've graced our TV screens over the years?

Of course I do.

While, inside, old hand Terrance Dicks talks about the fine art of writing the show.

Elsewhere, Richard Franklin - otherwise known as Captain Mike Yates - talks about a stage play which features UNIT.

There's a brand new comic strip starring someone called Dr Asimoff.

And we get a full colour pin-up of Peri which I'm sure won't do sales any harm at all.

The company's official adaptation of Conan the Destroyer continues along its merry way.

And there's a look at Marvel heroes in the movies.

Given that this is 1984, I suspect that'll be a fairly dispiriting read, made up entirely of the cinematic releases of the Hulk and Spider-Man pilot shows. Not to mention that duff Captain America film where he has the plastic shield that looks like it has all the heft of a Frisbee.

Still, as this mag now incorporates Mighty World of Marvel, we also encounter the latest from Night Raven, Marvel Showcase and Magik.

December 28th, 1974 - Marvel UK, 50 years ago this week.

Thanks to Charlie Horse 47 and Killdumpster for their sponsorship of this post, via the magic of Patreon. 

***

There was only one thing anyone with any sense would have wanted to watch on TV on December 28th, 1974.

And that was the first episode of the first Doctor Who serial to ever star Tom Baker, as he made his debut in the adventure an awestruck world could only refer to as Robot.

Having already played the villain in Golden Voyage of Sinbad, Rasputin in Nicholas and Alexandra and a murderous painter in Amicus' Vault of Horror, Baker would, of course, go on to become the longest serving Doctor and, also, British Telecom's voice of text.

Much as I love the Prowler, I'm not really convinced he justifies the cover's claim that he's, "The most dangerous super-villain Spidey has ever faced!" To be honest, I think that even Nazi Bee Man, or whatever he was called, was more dangerous.

Anyway, Spidey finally stops messing around and defeats his foe - only to discover he's just a teenager trying to make a better life for himself and his girlfriend. And this brings out our hero's forgiving streak.

Next, Iron Man is in Ireland, experiencing a curious tale which sees Count Nefaria generate dreams that force Shellhead to battle a whole bunch of his former foes, including the Robo-Hypno-Neanderthal!

Unfortunately, for Nefaria, in his attempt to gain victory, he turns the power up too high on his dream-making machine and it promptly explodes.

Across the Pond, Thor is still under the spell of the Ringmaster's hypnosis and lands himself in bother with the law when he helps the Circus of Crime steal a big Golden Bull.

The good news for the Avengers is they manage to overcome the evil Titan Typhon and restore Olympus to its former glory.

The bad news is this all convinces Hercules he needs to spend less time in the world of men and more time in the land of the gods.

And when I say, "more," I mean 100%.

This leaves the team with just three members - of which, only the Wasp has any actual super-powers.

Elsewhere, Shang-Chi's in a swamp and has to rescue his own father from a bunch of Nazis.

And prevent a nuclear war while he's at it.

Dr Strange, meanwhile, shows Clea the sights of New York, then accepts a dinner invitation from a man called Nekron who, amazingly, with a name like that, turns out to be a bad guy.

And he's working for Satannish!

That cover's giving me all kinds of flashbacks because I do know that, at some point, Marvel UK will turn it into a cut-out-and-mount diorama. One, that I, of course, will go on to cut out and mount.

In other news, having proven, via the medium of a doll, that ancient humans could talk, Taylor takes Dr Zaius hostage and gets him to agree that the cave they found it in will be be left undamaged.

Call me a cynic but I suspect it won't be long before the ape is merrily dynamiting it.

That's followed by a two-page biography of James Naughton, best known as Pete Burke in the Planet of the Apes TV show.

Next, Ka-Zar discovers that the two leaders of the warring factions in New Britannia know full well that World War Whatever is over and  have been keeping the news from their own people. 

And, finally, someone called Prince Rudolfo seeks to regain the throne of Latveria but Dr Doom crushes his rebellion.

However, the malevolent monarch of masked moody malice, misanthropy and menace has created a clone of himself.

A decision that I suspect shall come back to haunt him.

Well, this is a swizz. The Dracula story contained within this issue has nothing at all to do with the cover, which was created for a totally different tale.

Instead, we get a thriller in which the lord of the undead travels back in time, to the 19th Century, aiming to kill Abraham Van Helsing.

Fortunately, his intended victim's granddaughter has also travelled back in time and is available to put a stop to such shenanigans.

Jack Russell, meanwhile, is still involved in the tussle to find The Darkhold.

And, this time, he's up against the mesmerising menace of Marlene!

Frankenstein's Monster, on the other hand, has befriended a woman. However, no one seems to like her. To such a degree that they all want to kill her.

This brings out the creature's protective instincts.

But will it turn out everyone has good reason to want to kill her?

From that cover, I detect the first part of the epic in which, while making a movie, the Hulk runs into a bunch of aliens who also happen to be Egyptian deities.

Meanwhile, in New York, the Masked Marauder kidnaps Foggy, Karen and Matt, in an attempt to make them reveal Daredevil’s true identity. 

And, while that's happening, Spider-Man both takes on and takes down the Stilt-Man.

In the Fantastic Four's strip, Johnny Storm and Wyatt Wingfoot begin searching for the Inhumans but encounter, instead, Prester John and his Evil Eye.

Forty Years Ago Today! The 1984 Marvel UK annuals for 1985.

Thanks to Charlie Horse 47 and Killdumpster for their sponsorship of this post, via the magic of Patreon. 

***

Christmas. It's a time for peace, love and goodwill to all men. A time for all who have minds to contemplate the year just gone and what needs to be done in the year to come.

But there's only one thing I care about at Christmas.

Presents!

And what's on TV!

Christmas Day 1984 saw BBC One deliver such festive treats as Pages From Ceefax, The Noel Edmonds Live Live Christmas Breakfast Show, Blue Murder at St Trinian's, Top of the Pops, Christmas Blankety Blank, Hi-de-Hi!, The Paul Daniels Magic Christmas Show, Just Good Friends, The Two Ronnies, Wogan and Some Like it Hot.

BBC Two, meanwhile, offered, among other things, Chaplin: A Dog's Life, Polar Bear Alert, Chaplin: Limelight, Telly Quiz, The Nutcracker, The Master of Mouton and The Italian Film: Kaos.

ITV had Dangermouse, Emu at Christmas, Bugs Bunny's Looney Movie, Top Pop Videos of '84, Jayne Torvill & Christopher Dean, The Man with the Golden Gun, A Tribute to Eric Morecambe, Raiders of the Lost Ark, Des O'Connor Tonight and The Christmas Night Thriller : Home for the Holidays.

And what of that other channel we had now that we were a fancy modern country with more than three stations? Channel 4 supplied us with The Story of St Francis, The Custard Boys, Jour de Fête, The Young Visiters, Brookside, Jean Sibelius, and Ian Breakwell's Christmas Diary.

The weird thing is I have no memory of having watched any of those shows.

But here's an oddity. A Marvel Superheroes Annual published exclusively for sale in British Home Stores. With offers like that, how on Earth did the retailer go bust?

Once we've bought this mighty tome, what can we expect of it?

We can expect plenty.

For a start, there's the unmitigated awesomeness of the first-ever clash between the Silver Surfer and Abomination. I'm sure I don't need to tell you this was the first Marvel Comics material I ever read, way back when it featured in the pages of IPC's TV21 in the summer of 1971.

There's also a tale in which Spider-Man teams up with Thor but I have no more details on what happens in that epic than that.

I do, however, know we get a text story bearing the melodramatic monicker Pit of Doom.

Also, Ms Marvel must battle the Vision when someone plots  to steal a truck loaded with a Top Secret cargo.

A second text story sees the Fantastic Four battle robot duplicates of themselves.

And, following a text adventure starring the Hulk, the Original X-Men must survive a meeting with the Sentinels, thanks to the pencils of Neal Adams and words of Roy Thomas.

On top of all that, Sal Buscema gives us a thriller in which Spider-Man must crack the mystery of who killed a scientist left alone in a locked room with nothing but a computer for company.

For those who prefer space fantasy to super-heroics, the Return of the Jedi Annual shows up to treat us to plenty of reprinted Marvel goodness.

Sadly, I can shed little light upon the exact contents of this tome, other than to reveal it contains an adventure labelled Chanteuse of the Stars.

If there's one thing we can always depend upon, it's the presence of a Hulk Annual on our book shelves.

And we launch it with the Watcher demanding to know, "What If Rick Jones Had Become the Hulk?"

From what I can remember, such a thing would lead to a Hulk who speaks in nothing but Stan Lee style teen-speak. And if that isn't the best kind of Hulk we could hope to encounter, I don't know what is.

That's followed by a seven-page text story in which our hero's attacked by an army of androids sent by The Maker to capture him so the villain can study his strength, in order to make his androids even tougher.

If I'm not mistaken, wasn't that the plot of the Hulk's initial meeting with the Leader?

Next, we find a six-page text masterpiece in which a scout for the shape-changing alien race the Sprulku, investigates whether Earth is ripe for conquest. Needless to say, an encounter with the green grappler quickly convinces him it isn't.

I'm sure I'm not alone in noticing that "Sprulku" contains many of the same letters as "Skrull."

Finally, as the cover hints, we encounter the Hulk's first punch-up with the Rhino, when the thick-skinned miscreant's contacted by the men who gave him his costume and now can offer him a newer and better one.

That, of course, doesn't prevent our hero from quickly beating him into a coma.

As any fool knows, where there's a Hulk annual, there's bound to be a Spider-Man one.

Romance is in the air when the webbed wonder must deal with the return of the Black Cat who, having escaped from a psychiatric institution, tells the wall-crawler she wants to help him fight crime.

And be his girlfriend!

I would like to declare he has the good sense not to hook up with a woman who's just escaped from a lunatic asylum.

But, of course, he hasn't.

Next up, there's an eight-page text story called Eight Legs Hath the Spider.

That's one page for every leg.

That's followed by an eight-page text story called Lord of Light.

And we close the annual  - and this post - with a drama in which Spider-Man and the Black Cat have conflicting emotions about their new status as lovers.

And it's a conflict which leads to her, seemingly, leaping to her death in the river!

Fifty Years Ago Today! The 1974 Marvel UK annuals for 1975.

Thanks to Charlie Horse 47 and Killdumpster for their sponsorship of this post, via the magic of Patreon. 

***

As every fool knows, Christmas Day means food, presents, TV, booze, arguments, the pub burning down and annuals.

Frankly, I can give you just two of those things.

Therefore, here they are.

When it came to Christmas Day TV in 1974, BBC One presented us with a whole heap of output including but not confined to:

Carols from Canterbury, Dame Flora Robson's Christmas Appeal, Rolf Harris's A Stocking Full of Stars, Laurel and Hardy: Way Out West, Holiday on Ice, Jimmy Savile and Tony Blackburn hosting Top of the Pops, Billy Smart's Christmas Circus, True Grit, Bruce Forsyth's Generation Game, Some Mothers Do 'Ave 'Em, The Mike Yarwood Christmas Show, Bridge on the River Kwai and Michael Parkinson's favourite interviews with Morecambe and Wise.

BBC Two, meanwhile, offered up such fare as Golf 74, La Traviata, Henry V, Evel Knievel trying to jump over the Snake River Canyon, Ronnie Barker's Futtock's End and the quiz Face the Music.

Determined not be left behind by its public service rival, ITV stumped up Sooty's Christmas Party, Captain Nemo and the Underwater City, Christmas Rock With 45, David Nixon's Christmas Magic, Those Magnificent Men In Their Flying Machines, Meet Peters and Lee and The Tommy Cooper Hour, while the late movie was The Undefeated.

But what of those annuals?

Change was afoot. Whereas previous UK Marvel hardbacks had been published by IPC's Fleetway subsidiary, this year's were compiled by World Distributors Inc.

And did that make a difference?

Too right it did.

For a start, this time, they were in full colour!

And there was a much more focused feel to the choice of material, with the previous randomness discarded.

The Avengers get their first annual - and do it with peril - when they must tackle the menace of Magneto in a tale which first appeared in the US Avengers #110.

Fortunately, Daredevil and the Black Widow show up to rescue them from Magneto's mind control, and the Widow's rewarded by finally becoming an official member of the team.

Then, we get the 1965 Captain America pulse pounder in which Nazi agent Sando, posing as a stage act, lures Cap and Bucky into a trap that involves mental projections.

And we finish the book with its titular team taking on the maned mischief of the malevolent Lion God.

The observant will have noted that most of these tales are drawn by Dashing Don Heck himself.

And will find, within, a number of pin-ups.

Spidey swings into action to liven up our Christmas morning!

And he does so by having his first encounter with the Punisher!

Then he gets together with the Human Torch to create the Spider-Mobile. But he must face the menace of Hammerhead on his own. And then he must gatecrash the wedding of Aunt May and Doc Ock!

Bizarrely, for a Spider-Man annual, the final tale of the book is one which stars Giant-Man and the Winsome Wasp.

However, they do, at least, get to battle Spider-Man, having been tricked into it by Egghead who's out to distract them while he robs an armoured car.

I suspect that is a plan that's going to come back to bite him on the bottom.

And, of course, there are several pin-ups.

But it does all raise the obvious question of why the Green Goblin is on the cover when he doesn't seem to feature at all in the book.

Here it is, the only one of these annuals I ever owned.

And what a book it is, giving us two dollops of Herb Trimpe at his finest, as the Hulk comes up against Captain Omen and then Zzzax the living electric monster thing.

On top of that, we're treated to our hero's first encounter with the Silver Surfer, when Hulkie tries to force the pewter-plated board hopper to take him away from the planet Earth in a yarn pencilled by Mirthful Marie Severin.

And even more on top of that, we find a number of free pin-ups. One of which seems to have been drawn especially for the annual. Admittedly, it isn't a good pin-up but it is, at least, original.

Atlas/Seaboard December 1974.

Thanks to Charlie Horse 47 and Killdumpster for their sponsorship of this post, via the magic of Patreon. 

***

Atlas/Seaboard. It didn't burn long, it didn't burn bright and it crashed as much as it burned but burn it did - and at significant cost.

Launched by Marvel's former publisher Martin Goodman, for the alleged purpose of visiting vengeance upon Cadence Industries for not hiring his son Chip as Marvel's new editorial director, much money was flung at the project and much talent was hired to work for it.

As those books started to flood the spinner racks of the western world, it seemed a whole new era had arrived in the US comic industry. One that might sweep aside Marvel, DC, Charlton, Gold Key, Dell and all others, in a tidal wave of unadulterated ambition.

The company starts as it means to go on, by giving us a mag blatantly based on one by another publisher,

In this case, that other mag being Warren's Famous Monsters of Filmland.

As the cover informs, us, issue #1 features articles about Planet of the Apes and Christopher Lee's Dracula, plus The Exorcist and Gorgo.

It also, I believe, contains pieces about Star Trek, Curse of the Werewolf, The Creature from the Black Lagoon and The Monsters of Hercules.

I suspect the fellow on the cover is the Cyclops from The Seventh Voyage of Sinbad. Therefore, I shall assume there's also an article about that movie too.

But here's a book which bucked the trend of Atlas/Seaboard titles only lasting for four issues before disappearing, by only lasting for one issue before disappearing.

It's true. Never again would we see this book but, while it's among us, it does, at least, give us such breath-defying tales as The Cruel Cliffs of Malaspina, The Devil's Chapel, The Black Unicorn, Mommy Save Me From the Night Monsters and Asylum, as well as providing me with my own personal star-scope.

Who could demand more in exchange for their money?

Not me, even though Mommy Save Me From the Night Monsters doesn't exactly scream, "Romance," at me.

And was this mag too a rip-off of anything else?

I suspect it may have been designed as a, "homage," to Dell's Gothic Romances published in 1970 whose first issue also featured a front cover painting of a young woman fleeing a sinister house.

December 21st, 1974 - Marvel UK, 50 years ago this week.

Thanks to Charlie Horse 47 and Killdumpster for their sponsorship of this post, via the magic of Patreon. 

***

It's a tragedy that could make the hardest of men weep. Most pop stars are having a whale of a time at Christmas, as their hastily knocked up festive cash-in shoots up the Hit Parade and guarantees them an annual chart presence from now until the end of eternity, long after everyone's forgotten everything else they ever recorded.

But not Mud. The only emotion they were feeling as they hit the Number One spot on the UK singles listings, this week in 1974, was an empty sense of abandonment.

I am, of course, referring to the lyrics of their timeless Yuletide smash the world knows as Lonely This Christmas. Who can forget their emotions welling up, as lead singer Les Gray sat there on Top of the Pops, singing that song to a ventriloquist's dummy while polystyrene rained down upon him?

Not me.

But that probably says more about me than it does about the performance.

Over on the associated album chart, however, the pinnacle was held - as it had been for several weeks - by Elton John and his Greatest Hits LP.

Spidey continues his noticeably one-sided battle with the Prowler, by faking his own death.

Needless to say, this leaves his foe feeling somewhat traumatised.

When it comes to Iron Man, during a trip to his plant by the eternally unimpressed Senator Byrd, our hero manages to have his first-ever tussle with Attuma who, just for a change, is out to invade the surface world.

Iron Man, of course, is triumphant but Tony Stark now has to explain to the senator why the expensive submarine he was test-driving managed to blow up.

Thor, meanwhile, is still touring with the Circus of Crime whose Ringmaster has hypnotised him into helping them steal a big metal bull.

In a mystical dimension, Dormammu's still trying to gain access to our world.

And Dr Strange is still trying to stop him.

Frankly, as that cover makes clear, he's not doing a very good job of it.

But what's this? Umar's about to step into the ring and give the sorcerer a helping hand against her own brother?

All I can say is, "Thank God for familial betrayal."

But these are grim times for the Avengers.

With the defections of the Scarlet Witch and Quicksilver, the gang are now down to just three members. And one of those - Goliath - has lost his powers.

Not that he's bothering to reveal that to his other two teammates, because he's Hank Pym and if there's one thing Hank Pym doesn't make, it's good decisions.

While those three are bickering, Hercules, is still out to halt the rampage of the titan Typhon who, not content with having sent the Olympian gods into limbo, has decided to launch an attack on shipping in the Mediterranean.

Also in need of a boat is Shang-Chi who's in the Amazon and caught in the crossfire of Fu Manchu's men and a bunch of Nazis.

I do wonder where people in Dracula stories get their flaming torches from. In all my life, I've never seen a shop that sells them.

I once encountered a retailer in Sheffield that sold battleaxes and vacuum cleaners - which seemed rather an odd combination - but even they'd never thought to sell flaming torches.

Inside this book, Dracula and Taj use a mystical mirror to travel to 19th Century Transylvania.

And they're followed there by Drake and Rachel!

Elsewhere, Jack Russell visits an island, in search of The Darkhold. But, annoyingly, for him, while there, he's turned to stone.

Now I've got that ELO song stuck in my head.

Next is a short treat in the form of a chiller called My Name Is Death! by Stan Lee and Joe Maneely. It's a yarn narrated by an Iron Maiden and, from the names of the tale's creators, you may not be surprised to discover it's a 1950s reprint.

And, finally, this issue, Frankenstein's Monster is still hanging around with an Arctic tribe.

The Hulk continues to battle Dr Doom, and I'm thinking it's the issue in which he's close to killing the armour-clad clod until the lovely Valeria intercedes to convince him not to. An act which somewhat wounds Victor's pride.

But who cares about that when the real news is Daredevil's still taking on the Stiltman who's still teamed up with the Masked Marauder?

And, now, the Fantastic Four have their first encounter with the menace of Klaw who I have no doubt is out to steal a bucketload of precious Vibranium from Wakanda and the Black Panther.

Nine issues in and Marvel's adaptation of the first movie reaches its later stages.

It's that bit of the film in which the main cast are in a cave in the Forbidden Zone and discover a human doll that can speak!

That's followed by a one-page biography of Ron Harper, better known as Alan Virdon in the Planet of the Apes TV show.

And trouble's about to break out for Ka-Zar when he stumbles across a bunch of Germans and Brits who're still fighting either World War One or World War Two. I forget just which but, either way, it's a war and that's what counts.

And the curtain comes down on the issue with Diablo still holding Valeria hostage in an attempt to coerce Dr Doom into becoming his partner in crime.

Speak Your Brain! Part 94.

Thanks to Charlie Horse 47 and Killdumpster for their sponsorship of this post, via the magic of Patreon. 

***

Image by Tumisu
from Pixabay

It's here!

It can't be stopped!

It's the feature that can never be hidden from and can never be hidden in.

Long after Mankind has left this planet, the animals of this world will gather at Stonehenge, once every year, to speak of that feature in hushed whispers deserving of those whose hushes are best left whispered.

You guessed it. It's the one in which the first person to comment below gets to decide today's subject for debate.

That subject could be almost anything. Therefore, feel free to make use of that comments section, and we shall see what shall develop.

PS. Am I the only person on Earth who thinks the word "develop" should have a letter "e" on the end of it?

2000 AD - November 1986.

Thanks to Charlie Horse 47 and Killdumpster for their sponsorship of this post, via the magic of Patreon. 

***

Who out there likes breathing?

I like breathing.

And that's good news for us all because there was a lot of it going on when it came to music in November 1986.

For instance, the first half of that month saw the UK singles chart's Number One slot being gripped by Berlin with their track Take My Breath Away. However, in the second half of the month, they soon had to make way for Europe and The Final Countdown.

I suppose that makes sense. After all, Europe is indeed bigger than Berlin.

But while Berlin were failing to breathe atop the singles chart, the corresponding album listings saw the month launch with the Police in pole position, thanks to their Best Of collection Every Breath You Take.

Like Berlin, the Police soon found that lung power alone wasn't enough to keep them aloft indefinitely and they too were soon robbed of their crown. This time, by Various Artists with their latest platter that shattered Hits 5.

However, Various Artists turned out to be no match for Various Artists who quickly deposed them with their brand new album Now That's What I Call Music! Vol 8.

And what of the cinema? What was tickling our widescreen taste buds?

There wasn't a lot going on that could be called memorable but it was, at least, a month which saw the unleashing of Sid and Nancy, An American Tail and Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home.

Having seen just one of those movies, I shall nominate the Star Trek offering as my Film of the Month.

But what's this? It wasn't only music and moving pictures that were vying for our attention? So was the sport the UK knows as football?

And it was doing it in a way that would go on to make history because November 1986 saw Aberdeen manager Alex Ferguson appointed as the new manager of Manchester United, replacing Ron Atkinson and launching what would turn out to be a legendary epoch in that club's annals.

But what of the galaxy's greatest comic? What was it up to?

It was, as so often, giving us a concentrated diet of Sláine, Ace Trucking Co, Sooner or Later, Strontium Dog, Judge Dredd and Rogue Trooper. Sadly, I have little else to offer, in terms of analysis of those issues but here are their covers in which we can, I have no doubt, find much to treasure and to delight us.

December 14th, 1974 - Marvel UK, 50 years ago this week.

Thanks to Charlie Horse 47 and Killdumpster for their sponsorship of this post, via the magic of Patreon. 

***

We all like a good scrap and, half a century ago, as Santa started to get his boots on and charge up the batteries on his reindeer, the battle to be the UK's Christmas Number One was already starting to hot up.

Not that you'd know it from what was then topping the UK singles chart, because it was Barry White's not noticeably seasonal offering You're the First, the Last, My Everything.

And the summit of the accompanying LP chart was similarly devoid of festive spirit, held, as it was, by Elton John's Greatest Hits.

I don't mind that Barry White track, but singles I approved of even more on that week's Hit Parade were:

Gonna Make You a Star - David Essex

Juke Box Jive - the Rubettes

Magic - Pilot

Streets of London - Ralph McTell

Junior's Farm - Paul McCartney and Wings

How Long? - Ace

Killer Queen - Queen

Hey Mister Christmas - Showaddywaddy

The Bump - Kenny

and

Stardust - David Essex.

Should you wish to study the matter in greater depth, that week's UK singles chart may be found by clicking this link.

While the accompanying album chart is located here.

From that cover, it looks like we're encountering the shocker in which Magneto's turned out to threaten the United Nations Security Council.

The one in which in which Wanda gets shot in the head, which convinces Quicksilver to rejoin Magneto's Brotherhood of Evil Mutants!

I do believe Shang-Chi's still on the loose in the Amazon and, in the space of just a handful of pages, manages to be in conflict with crocodiles, Nazis and his own father.

Dr Strange, meanwhile, is still trying to prevent Dormammu from reaching a portal that would allow him to gain access to the planet Earth.

And, frankly, it's not looking good for our hero.

Things move up a gear, this week, as not only do Taylor, Zira and Cornelius manage to escape Ape City, they also head off into the disturbing wilderness of the Forbidden Zone.

Following that, there's a two-page text article about the Apes on TV.

Then, the Savage Land's getting distinctly wet, as Damon the Man-God rides around on his magic horse and causes no end of trouble for the locals until he's finally convinced to go away by someone called Lelania.

But all of that pales into insignificance besides what happens in the final third of this issue.

And that's because a sensational new series begins when everyone's favourite masked monarch Dr Doom gets his very own strip!

And, in it, he must contend with Diablo who's taken his beloved Valeria hostage!

Somehow, I can't see Doomy putting up with that kind of behaviour.

What's this I see?

Is it a cover originally drawn by Neal Adams but heavily modified by John Romita?

My knowledge of this week's Dracula thriller is a little limited but I do know it involves the vampire getting his hands on a mirror which doubles up as a time machine.

Needless to say, Vlad's determined to make use of it.

And he does.

Elsewhere, Jack Russell meets a man called Buck and, together, they set off in search of the pesky Darkhold everybody seems to want to get their hands on.

This leads the pair to an island.

And, I've no doubt, a huge pile of trouble.

But at least things look to be going better for Frankenstein's Monster. He has, after all, been befriended by a tribe of Neanderthals.

However, that's when another tribe shows up with hearts filled with nothing but aggression.

A brand new super-hero makes his debut!

And quickly manages to become a super-villain, thanks to his terrible plan to make himself look heroic.

Yes, you guessed it, the world most powerful window cleaner has finally arrived in the form of Hobie Brown who decides to put his gift for inventing things to good use.

But will that use be up to the job of battling Spider-Man?

Iron Man seems to be missing from this week's issue but we still have plenty of Thor to look forward to.

Sadly, that means we also have to endure Odin and his hissy fits.

The old duffer's managed to defeat the villainous Forsung but when he orders Thor, Balder and Sif to return to Asgard, Thor says he want to stay on Earth, and the king of the gods reacts like any rational person would and promptly exiles him and strips him of his enchanted powers.

Fortunately, there's always work available in a circus, for a strong man.

Not so fortunately, the circus Thor decides to join is run by the Ringmaster, and its entertainers have a noticeably criminal vibe about them...

From that cover, I'm going to guess Victor Von Doom's still trying to get the Hulk to be his deliverer of bombs for him.

And I'd guess the Hulk's not being overly helpful.

Daredevil, meanwhile, must confront the terrifying return of the Stilt-Man who's about to team up with the Masked Marauder.

While everyone else must confront the terrifying return of Mike Murdock.

And, in our final tale of the issue, we get to discover the mind-boggling origin of the Black Panther, as related by the man himself.